


Striking a Balance

by Larathia



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Other, Triad - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 12:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larathia/pseuds/Larathia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An introspective, answering a prompt on fic_promptly, regarding Squall and responsibility</p>
            </blockquote>





	Striking a Balance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mystiri_1](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=mystiri_1).



They talked, these days, about work/life balance and things like that, which meant - Squall understood - finding time to be a family person or a social butterfly in addition to doing your job. 

It was still a phrase he heard, now and again, but mostly in the context of Rinoa and Zell. The context was usually along the lines of "How do you have time for one lover, never mind two?" and "Are you the third wheel?" and inevitably his response was to level a blank stare at the querent, and say nothing until the overly inquisitive idiot gave up and walked away.

Squall was rather sensitive to words. In this case, the word that bothered him was 'balance'. It implied that one should divide equally. And frankly the mere idea of spending two thirds of his waking hours focusing on his private life was _insane_ , and likely to cause insanity if he ever tried it. Squall was a creature of duty, and his responsibilities had only grown over the years, and if _anyone_ were going to understand that, it would be his two lovers, who had been alongside him for (between them) the entire ride.

Duty, responsibility - these were important, time consuming, and utterly non-negotiable. If one imagined a scale, it was a heavy weight on one side. And if it were Rinoa alone, or Zell alone, there would not be sufficient counterweight. He cared greatly for them both, of course, but part of the reason _why_ was an implicit assumption that recent events had instilled in them a basic ability to look after themselves. While working - be it a contract or a report - Squall tended to lose track of time and shut out distractions, and Rinoa had no desire to be the 'whiny girlfriend' any more than Zell wanted to be a 'strong arm bully' to pull Squall away from it.

But _together_ , the three of them had found an unorthodox but effective balance. Squall worked, and Rinoa and Zell spent time together. And when Rinoa and Zell agreed that Squall had worked enough, their joint approach made sure Squall's work got finished to a point that he felt all right leaving it be and taking a break.

Which might make the balance seem too heavily weighted - on the personal side - toward Rinoa and Zell, looking after their own interests as well as his. But that was only if one had no idea what Squall _did_ , during all those hours of duty and responsibility.

In and around negotiating and proposing treaties between nations, contracts for SeeDs, and the daily business of keeping Balamb Garden from nosediving into the ocean, Squall made sure Rinoa had ample closet space and shoe racks and funds for shopping trips, and diplomatic tasks on Garden's behalf to wear the results to. Although she wasn't a SeeD, she was also always free to attend SeeD cadet classes, to learn whatever she chose. Zell's contracts _always_ were jobs he could tell his mother about, and there was always time in between them for him to do so at as much length as he wanted. And if Rinoa wanted to go with him, she was always provided the tools to do so in a manner to let her be genuinely helpful and not a mere tagalong.

It wasn't the same as being there. They all knew that. But such little things showed that Squall wasn't using his duties as an excuse to avoid them, or stop thinking about them, and he didn't expect either of them to set their lives aside to wait for him. 

If you had a heavy weight, sometimes multiple smaller weights was a better counterbalance.


End file.
